Get a taster of the national sport Word to the wise: If you choose a ringside seat, you run the risk of being splattered with sweat, spit and blood.

Sweaty, bloody, and downright dangerous, Muay Thai boxing is always a messy affair. Taking in a match of the national sport is practically a right-of-passage for visitors to Thailand—in Bangkok, make for Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

A combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques, Muay Thai is referred to as the "art of eight limbs" because the super-fit athletes are allowed to punch, kick, elbow and knee their opponents to victory, utilising eight points of contact in all. If both opponents make it through the five, three-minute rounds without knocking each other out, the victor is determined by points.

The ticket price generally secures entry to a handful of matches—including a round of young 'Karate Kid' wannabes who make grown adults cower as they fly-kick the daylights out of each other—but for the faint-of-heart, one match is more than enough.